


To Catch a Thief

by emmeryn



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Assassins & Hitmen, F/F, F/M, Gen, Modern AU, Organized Crime, will add tags/characters/pairings for later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-08 04:12:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4290372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmeryn/pseuds/emmeryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Come with me."<br/>"What?"<br/>"I'm on the run, you're about to be on the run, and I don't really know what I'm doing. Come with me."<br/>"You do realise that allowing your would-be assassin to accompany you is a little, I dunno, naive? Foolish? Downright ridiculous?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Thief in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> tw: choking

Gaius didn't know much about his mark beyond the hastily jotted down hotel number he'd scrawled onto a scrap of note paper before he left. He'd been told it was better to know as little about them as possible; easier to kill that way. Even knowing the reason for their contract could bring up all kinds of unnecessary moral judgements and, yeah, Gaius really didn't want to have to deal with that right now. He just wanted to get in there, get out, get paid.

The "hotel", if your standards were low enough to call it that, wasn't the kind of place he was used to venturing during his less than savoury pursuits. He preferred to case more classy joints; bell boys, tall ceilings, wide curving staircases with red carpets reflected in the glass chandeliers. Nah, the mark had chosen a small leaky hostel with definitely no bell boys (unless the drunk chick who tried to hit on him soon as he took a step inside counted), ceilings that were close to being extremely familiar with the top of his cranium, chipped linoleum floors reflected in the chipped landscape mirror that attempted to brighten up the wall behind the check out's desk. The check out themselves was, fortunately, passed out in their chair with a bottle of straight vodka held precariously to their side. Gaius looked at his watch; 2 AM, with any luck his mark was asleep. Even if they were awake, he imagined a scream or two still would contribute nothing towards waking the unfortunate receptionist.

Slipping a gun he wasn't one hundred percent sure he was comfortable holding yet out of his jacket, he took cautious steps up the low hooded spiral staircase, watching the few room numbers flash passed until he reached his mark's. Their room was at the end of a thin corridor which smelled like axe and cigarettes, with a dusty window at the end of it, which, even had it been clear, you could see looked out on the dull red brick wall of the neighbouring building. Gaius sucked in a breath. Yeah. Call him a snob but he'd become accustomed to the big bucks in his line of work. It just so happened that he needed even bigger bucks if he didn't want to wake up (or rather, not) lying in the river with his throat slit.

Fishing a small stack of lock picks from his chest pocket, he stood in front of the door. Had to mentally prepare himself for the fact that he was about to murder someone in cold blood and all. "Better them than me", he muttered under under _under_ his breath. Easily and quietly picking the lock, he crouched slightly, gripped his gun and smoothly slid into the darkened room -

\- at which point he felt something hard and metal connect with the back of his head, and he was out.

***

Gaius woke up in a vaguely familiar situation: handcuffed to a bed, though the bed in question was a lot less comfy and decidedly less clean than he was used to. "I hope you didn't think killing me would be that easy." A voice reverberated around the small, previously deathly silent hotel room.

"What can I say, I'm an optimist." Gaius watched a shadowed figure rise from an armchair near the far wall and walk in his direction. Immediately he noticed their height; they were an absolute shorty. He briefly entertained the idea that he'd been sent to off a child - how the hell did they knock him out through blunt force trauma with that frame? Once slightly more in the light he saw that it had definitely been an adult, not a child, and she was sporting some admittedly decently strong looking biceps. Gaius' head throbbed.

"You know, if you wanted to tie me up you could have just asked." His most earnest smile possible plastered onto his face, he tried his best to work out if there was any way to slip out of the cuffs without breaking every bone in his hands before doing so. His mark was probably scowling, though it was still too dark to tell. He liked to think she was scowling. He just had that effect on people.

"That was the most amateur attempt at an assassination I've ever seen. They must not really want me dead if this," she gestured to all of him, "is the best they've sent." His handcuffer walked to the foot of the bed until she was just close enough for him to make out her features. The first thing he noticed was the sharp focus in her eyes - next were the dark circles that were making camp underneath them. "Hey, so yeah, this is my first time, but any pointers would be appreciated." Gaius might have been a terrible assassin, but a terrible escape artist he was not. Actually he was kind of an expert in break outs, not to mention running away very fast. He just had to hope it was too dark for her to notice his left hand nudging a small length of wire up and over the hem of his right sleeve, and towards the lock of the opposing cuff.

His short captor circled round the foot of the bed and picked up a tightly packed bag, slinging it over her shoulder. "I'd love to teach you to do your job, really I would, but if Validar knows where I am then I'm afraid I can't stay." She headed for the door. "Give the cleaning lady my regards when she finds you in the morning." Her hand was almost on the doorknob when the small length of wire found its mark inside Gaius' left cuff. In the space of only a few seconds, the thief slammed the wire into his remaining cuff, leapt off the bed and crashed full force into his would-be detainer, sending them both flying against the exit with an unceremonious thud.

His target was disoriented, but he was not. From his position above her, legs and bag a tangle, Gaius wrapped his fingers around the young woman's neck and held her firmly against the door as he fumbled around inside her bag for his gun. Her hands grappled at his own, her voice sputtering. "-uo won't-! Find it!" She tried to cough. "It's not there!"

Gaius loosened his grip. "Then where?"   
She glanced towards the window, sucking in deep breaths of air. "I...tossed it."  
"What? Why?"  
Her eyes were back on him again, their manner the very picture of sincerity, and exhaustion. "Because I'm not a killer, either."

He didn't move his hand. This could easily be a trick. She'd have to be a damn good liar, and speaking as a professional teller of fibs and falsities himself, he was very aware of the possibility. Continuing to hold her in place, he patted down her front pockets then jerked her forwards to check the back. All empty aside from a five dollar note, a credit card, and the room key. "Huh."

Gaius held onto the key and finally released his grip on his mark, who immediately braced herself on the hotel room floor, heaving and bringing a hand to her neck. He wasn't really sure where to go from here. Without his gun he could just strangle her again, sure, or any other method of a more physical nature, but he didn't actually fancy himself the strangling type - too much time to think, too much time to chicken out, just generally, not preferable. Once she was done panting, the woman looked at him in the dim light. "So, what?" She glanced at the key. "Are you going to stab me to death with that, or something?" Gaius let out a brief sigh.  
"Look, you and I both know I'm not going to kill you, but I can't let you go. I'd be hung, drawn and quartered, and then probably roasted and sent to my parents' house in a box. You know how it goes."  
"So we're gonna stay here."  
"Uh, no."  
"Then, what?"  
"I, uh. Um."  
"Damn, your astounding ability to formulate plans under pressure has me on the edge of my seat, I'm telling you."   
She pushed off from the floor, and gave her bruising neck one final rub before picking her bag back up. "Come with me."  
"What?"  
"I'm on the run, you're about to be on the run, and I don't really know what I'm doing. Come with me."  
"You do realise that allowing your would-be assassin to accompany you is a little, I dunno, naive? Foolish? Downright ridiculous?"  
"If you're coming then come. If not, then give me the key and let me leave, because staying in here won't stop Validar from frying both our asses."  
He stared at her. She was serious. And also entirely correct. If Validar didn't hear from Gaius by tomorrow morning he would just send someone else, and he doubted there were any more assassins under that man who weren't perfectly capable of carrying out their jobs.

He reluctantly handed over the key. She took it, unlocked the door and walked out. Gaius paused for all of ten seconds before running after her.


	2. The Getaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's make like a banana and split.

He was definitely having an off-day, Gangrel had decided. First he’d forgotten that in his new apartment, his bed was next to the wall, and had attempted to roll over in the morning only to be met with a face full of concrete and a very bloody nose. Then, he’d walked two paces out of his building’s front door only to have the elderly coffee shop owner next door politely inform him that his trousers were definitely on backwards. Then he’d tripped over his own feet on his way back. Then he’d realised he had locked himself out, and had to call the landlord. Twenty minutes later, having fixed his trousers and dealt with his second nosebleed of the day, Gangrel finally left his building feeling like nothing more could possibly go wrong. And then a truck drove passed. And completely drenched him from head-to-toe in puddle water. Life sucked.

By the time he showed up at the small bar that was a relatively long taxi ride away, nodding to the chatty redheaded bartender who he was familiar with, his colleague’s patience had clearly run thin. Sitting at an alcoved table in the back, with her legs and arms crossed and her lips firmly pursed, Aversa was quite probably the most unimpressed person Gangrel had seen since his eighth grade math teacher. “You’re late.” She took a curt sip of her afternoon wine. “And your tie is off-centre.”

Grinning widely, Gangrel walked towards his glaring associate with outstretched arms, despite the ominous tap-tap-tap of her black nails upon the glass tabletop in front of her. “Aversa, darling, you look positively stunning, unlike my scruffier self. Is that a new suit? It really brings out your–oof!” He stopped short of the seat next to Aversa as one of her long legs shot up and unabashedly kicked him in the stomach. He whimpered somewhat pathetically as he keeled over, looking up at the woman with teary eyes. “I do have other arrangements today, you understand. I had to push my three o'clock to five thanks to you. Now, kindly cut the bullshit and sit down.” Grappling himself off the sleek tiled floor, Gangrel slumped in the equally as sleek chair opposite Aversa, as she indulged another brief moment with her drink. A short silence followed as she retrieved a slim bound file from her bag and slid it across the table. “Validar has a job for you. It is quite a…delicate situation. You will be our second attempt.” Gangrel held a hand to his chest in mock offense.  
“I’m your second choice? Aversa, I’m wounded.”  
“Not as wounded as you’re going to be if you don’t let me finish.” He held his tongue. Aversa continued.  
“The mark was last seen headed out of the city in a stolen red truck. The details are in the file. Furthermore, they aren’t alone. Validar gives you his warm and unbridled permission to take out any accomplices you can identify with the mark.”  
Gangrel stayed quiet.   
“…I’m finished.”  
“Phew, alright, anything else I oughta know? What makes this such a "delicate” situation?“   
”…the mark is…someone you know.“  
"Wait, what? Who?”

Aversa tipped her head back and downed the remainder of her wine. She dabbed the corners of her lips, and then met Gangrel’s eyes with her own.  
“Validar’s daughter.”  
“Well. Shit.”

***

This lady walked fast. Gaius spent a good half an hour following a few paces behind her, through side streets and back alleys, all the while watching her faintly silhouetted in the early morning light. Seriously, what was he doing? He could kill her, right now. He could pay his debts with cash to spare and then run off somewhere warm and sunny, out of Validar’s reach. The only thing standing in his way was the woman right in front of him. That, and his probably-not-to-be-ashamed-of lack of murderous tendencies. They continued trekking along in silence, Gaius wallowing in self pity and his ex-mark wallowing in visibly rigid determination.

They’d been out for several hours when pedestrians plus the more frequent car joined the streets. Gaius finally deigned to ask where they were going. She turned to him. “How experienced are you in the art of automobile theft?”  
“Sorry?”  
“Cars. Stealing them.”  
“Experienced enough.”  
“Perfecto.”

They turned a further few corners before Little Miss Ambiguous stopped just short of the locked entrance to yet another less than high class establishment, this time a cafe. He wasn’t sure how she was so acquainted with the rougher areas of the city. She seemed, for all intents and purposes, an all-around typical human being, if a little on the small side. What the hell did she do to piss the moustache twiddling codger off so much? 

“That one.” Gaius was pulled out of his own head by her voice and the sight of her arm outstretched and pointing behind him. Swivelling round to follow the line of her finger, he saw she was referring to a red truck just off the side of the building. It was grubby and dented and one of the windows had been graciously painted with bird shit. Lovely. Gaius cringed just looking at it, and then he saw Tiny (an ingenious nickname, he knew) running her gaze over his. “So, can you break into it? Get it running?” She had the quizzical, apprehensive look of someone who had never done wrong. 

Gaius cocked his head. “Sure, though I don’t see why we can’t nab something a little more impressive. I doubt the owner of this one can get a replacement. Otherwise they seriously would have already done that.”  
“Pricey cars attract attention. I’m not proud of this, but we need something low key, and public transport is off the table.” That rigid determination was back, and she walked towards the truck with a purpose, standing by it and folding her arms expectantly. Gaius approached her wearily. The vehicle was banged up pretty bad, he wasn’t sure he’d even need any tricks to break in. Sure enough, checking the side he saw an old-style lock on the door. Child’s play. Jesus, how old was this rust-bucket? “Well?” Tiny was gnawing on her bottom lip and glancing around them. It was still early enough and they were still in an area derelict enough that it was doubtful anyone would pass by, but evidently this did not comfort her. “Relax. I can get this tin can open in less than 10 seconds.”

Fishing out the very same picks he’d used earlier that morning to break into Tiny’s hotel room, Gaius slipped one into the lock. He danced around with the tumblers, and it took him 6 seconds before he heard it open with a satisfying “click”. “Your chariot awaits.” Tiny circled round and looked at Gaius, her expression clearly one of masked admiration. Yeah, he got that a lot. “My shitty chariot, that’s covered in shit.” 

“Hey, you chose it. Live with it.” Tiny had to swing her legs to get into the driver’s seat, the height of the vessel throwing her off. Gaius slid in beside her. “…Can you even reach the pedals?” He was met with a glare that could melt glaciers. Leaning over, he manoeuvred a pick into place and started up the car. Tiny wasted no time. Gaius learned that she could, indeed, reach the pedals, when she reversed at an almost dangerous speed, found the road, and they were off.

They had already been near the edge of the city; it wasn’t long before they hit the outskirts, tall and sleek office buildings paling into the distance. Gaius slouched in his seat and leaned a foot against the dashboard, and hazarded a glance at his companion’s face. It must have been several days since she last slept, and her eyes drooped worryingly now and again. Nevertheless her bloodshot eyes had nothing but steadfast - if a little drowsy - concentration in them. He would have offered to drive, until it truly hit him that their destination was a complete mystery to him. “So I take it you have a plan?”

She lifted a hand to rub at her eyes briefly before she responded. “I have friends in the next town. We’re going to see them.”   
“They can help?”  
“They can give us food, a bed and a shower, if that constitutes helping. God I want a shower.” She exemplified this with a small shudder of anticipation, and Gaius chuckled despite himself. He saw her looking at him in the rear view mirror.  
She took a breath before continuing. “I don’t really know how this works. Can we tell each other our names, or would that be a bad idea considering the potentially fleeting nature of our alliance?”  
“Whatever your name is I’m still calling you "Tiny.”“  
"Excuse me?”  
“I’m excellent at nicknames. You’re Tiny.”  
“…then in honour of your fiery locks I hereby dub thee "Carrot”.“  
"Please don’t.”  
“What’s up, Carrot? Not feeling it?”  
“Holy shit ok, no, my name’s Gaius.”  
“Robin.”  
He shook his head and looked out the window, smiling slightly. “Charmed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this chapter took so long! i'll try to be faster from now on (try is absolutely and unfortunately the key word here)
> 
> EDIT: CH3 WILL HAPPEN! but life is also happening you know how it is, i'm sorry


End file.
